Jeff Shulman Chooses Hellmuth as WSOP Coach

Card Player President Selects 11-time Bracelet Winner for WSOP Training

One of the biggest names at the final table just got an even bigger name to coach him.

Jeff Shulman, the president of Card Player Media, has selected 11-time bracelet-winner and 1989 World Champion Phil Hellmuth to serve as his poker coach for the main-event final table in November.

“The simplest reason why I’m doing this — I want to win, and I think it will help,” said Shulman.

Shulman and Hellmuth’s relationship go way back, as the two have been friends for years, all the while maintaining a successful business relationship. Hellmuth was an obvious choice when Shulman started to seriously consider getting a coach for the final table.

“I turned on the TV and I was watching Tiger Woods or something, and I realized — every single player has a coach,” said Shulman. “No matter how good or bad my game is, it can always get better.”

Hellmuth, known as much for his brash antics at the table as he is for his record 11 World Series of Poker bracelets, will be rooting Shulman on in the Rio Penn and Teller Theater this November.

“Jeff Shulman is a first-rate businessman who runs the poker industry’s leading publication,” said Hellmuth. “Jeff also loves the game of poker, and he comes out only for the biggest and most prestigious poker tournaments in the world, where he has a terrific track record. I have always liked and respected Jeff, and that’s why I am coaching him for the November Nine, where he is the favorite to become the 2009 World Champion of poker.”

Shulman, always modest about his abilities, says he saw some flaws in his game while playing in the main event that he wants to address.

“I’m not playing my A-game right now. I’m probably like at a solid B,” said Shulman. “I made a couple calls in the tournament that I wasn’t pleased with, and I just know that I’m not the best poker player out there.”

Shulman said he chose Hellmuth in part because he had a similar style to the ’89 champ, and thought his advice would be invaluable.

“Phil just has such a way of thinking about winning that I knew he would be a great resource,” said Shulman. “We’re going to talk about final-table strategy, analyze the tapes, and work on my own play.”

Shulman said that much of the coaching would probably take place online through Skype, where Hellmuth would critique his play. Hellmuth will also fly into Las Vegas to conduct “a three- or four-day boot camp in October — or however long we can deal with each other,” said Shulman.

Shulman is the first member of the 2009 November Nine to publicly declare that he has selected a poker coach. Last year, third-place finisher Dennis Phillips sought out the advice of poker pro Roy Winston.

Sitting fourth in chips, not too many players at the final table have more experience or success than Shulman. He finished in seventh place in the 2000 WSOP main event, and has a history of success at big buy-in events, cashing four times in the prestigious $25,000 Five-Star World Poker Classic (WPT Championship) in ’03, ’04, ’05, and ’08.

While Shulman is not looking to completely revamp his game, he sees this opportunity as a chance to give him a better shot in November. There are a few things that he won’t be looking to the 11-time bracelet winner for advice, though.

“Let’s just say I won’t take lessons from him on how to treat your opponents or how to avoid going on tilt,” said Shulman.

I always wear headphones at the table, and my ipod is usually off. People will talk about you b/c they think you can't hear them. Also, it makes it much easier to ignore the moron next to you that feels the need to critique every hand. They usually stop sooner b/c they think you can't hear them.

and apparently you cant comprehend either texasroadgambler.
if you notice, superfreak said that he has "HIS IPOD OFF"
since the other players think you cant hear them, as you said "the noise sometimes contatins information"
Fool

I agree. My headphones are usually on but my music is off. It dulls a lot of the ambient noise without hampering my ability to hear the table talk, so that increases my focus without diminishing the advantages. It also means that people won't try mindless chit chat with me, they may talk about me "behind my back," and they'll still often try to say stuff to me to get a reaction, thinking that if they say it loud enough they might get a read. You lose nothing and gain plenty.

It comes down to this: If you don't have the discipline to play without artificial props, then perhaps you should step down a level or two or even find a game other than poker that doesn't require discipline.

And if you think that most of the players wearing headphones or the equivalent are not listening to music, then I have some oceanfront property in Arizona that I can let you have for a bargain.

Alright wearing headphones does allow you to miss certain things. However, hearing is not as important as seeing at the poker table. You can always see your opponent, but your opponent doesn't have to talk to you. Next, calm down buddy, maybe you should get back to your $2 limit game. Phil Ivey wears headphones; you think you can beat him? How about Negreanu, Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, etc. Yeah your right these guys have really been hindered by their headphone wearing.

i love it when the guy in the comments section of a random poker website pretends like he knows more than the subject of the article... you know, the guy who actually made the final table of the f--king world series.

texas, perhaps if you're so much better than the rest of us you should just scurry back to those private $2K/$4K games you're playing at the top of some skyscraper in hong kong, you bigshot you. no point in lecturing the commoners here, right?

OH YEAH......I WISH THAT SHAMELESS CLOWN HELLMUTH WOULD QUIT WEARING THOSE GOD AWFUL SHIRTS HE'S TRYING TO SELL.....THEY ALL LOOK LIKE CRAP, ESPECIALLY ON HIM. AND I WOULD VENTURE TO GUESS THAT HE HAS SOLD VERY VERY FEW....YOU COULDN'T PAY ME TO WEAR THAT CRAP.

OK my main issue with this article is that Hellmuth commented that Jeff Shulman is "the favorite" to win the Main Event. That is unbelievable. The lack of respect that Hellmuth just showed for fellow pro Phil Ivey is staggering. Hellmuth is just jealous that he blew up and didn't go farther this year. Phil Ivey is without a doubt one of the best players in poker history. Maybe the best. In my opinion the best. So "the favorite" is Phil Ivey, I don't care how short his chips are, he has the most experience and the best track record. F--k headphones, this is why I'm offended. Shulman looks like a goon too.

tweezerjam: You wrote: "...pretends like he knows more than the subject of the article... you know, the guy who actually made the final table of the f--king world series." You were writing about me as if I had no knowldege or experience to give the advice that I gave Jeff.

My credentials for making this critique include making the final table of the Main Event quite a few times more than Jeff, Ivey, Hellmuth, or Negraneau.

While the earphone inserts, even with the iPod off, will block some of the sound from across the table, will it be likely that the November Nine players seated there or anywhere are going to be discussing another player, Supie? Imo Tex is right in stating that with so much at stake, it's better to focus all one's senses, thoughts, etc., on the event. That said, watch Phil Ivey put on some earphones just to tweak us.

i think that the reason hellmuth states that shulman is a favorite over ivey isn't because he doesn't respect ivey's game. anyone who has ever watched him play for more than an hour (which hellmuth has done) has to respect the guy's approach to the game. i think the reason he thinks shulman has a better chance is because he has significantly more chips than ivey does. ivey only has 9 million and shulman has 19 million. i doubt anyone at that final table will claim to be a significantly better poker player than ivey, but when you're chasing a guy with almost 59 million i'd want to be as close to that guy in chips as possible. shulman has fully twice as many chips as ivey, that's why hellmuth is saying he's the favorite. he's got plenty of skill and a lot more money than ivey.

I had the opportunity to play at the same table as Jeff Shulman for several hours in this year's WSOP. He is very difficult to put on a hand. He plays solid with appropriate and tough folds, but more importantly aggressive in style, he is pretty intimidating. I'll be pulling for Jeff and Phil. Good luck guys!

Why on earth would you forget about the chip stacks? They're integral to figuring out who the favorite is. I think it's barely a dispute that if all of the stacks were equal, Ivey would be the frontrunner. He's not, he's on a short-stack, so he's not a favorite. Compare him to ANOTHER short stack and he's a favorite, but compare him to Darvin Moon and he's way behind. I truly don't understand why people here think the stacks are so unimportant. The stacks are still deep, even for the short players, but they mean a damn lot.

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